An S.A. View of World AIDS Day

Thursday marks World Aids Day and in Bexar County, the fight to prevent the disease form spreading continues but needs your support.

We talked to Ken Slavin at the San Antonio Aids Foundation. He says there are several area organizations working together to provide education and free AIDS testing kits.

Recent numbers show more than 5,500 Bexar County residents are infected with HIV and when you break it down by gender, 85 percent are men while 15 percent are women.

Slavin tells us a majority of the people living with HIV in the area are Hispanic.

He highlighted one particular statistic that most of the people with HIV in Bexar County are over the age of 45.

He also mentioned that there has been a spike in younger people aged 20 to 44, living with HIV.

We asked Slavin about the stigmas surrounding HIV and AIDS and whether or not they still exists nearly 40 years after health experts became aware of the diseases.

He tells us that there are still people that believe HIV and AIDS are gay diseases that can sometimes be spread to heterosexual people.

“HIV and AIDS are equal opportunity diseases that can impact anyone in society.”

World AIDS Day will end with an event at Our Lady of the Lake University. It’s taking place at 7pm at Providence Hall with speakers, information tables, free testing and a special candlelight service to remember those who have died of AIDS and those still living with the disease.